In-house lighting control is very important in today's poultry houses, particularly in broiler houses in which birds are grown for consumption. Integrators have specific lighting programs that require growers to adhere to and rely on light control inside the house to maximize bird health and production. During the first stage of a bird's life, known as brooding, lights are typically on full bright for one to two weeks. The lights are then slowly dimmed per the integrators' requirements until the end of the flock. At this point, the lights are set to a very dim level. Control of the lights is important for many reasons, but most importantly, it has a significant impact on the feed conversion of the flock. “Feed conversion” refers to the ratio of the number of pounds of feed required to add one pound of weight to an individual bird. It is critical to keep the houses very dark and avoid unwanted light, especially at the end of the flock when the birds are nearing market size. If the light is properly controlled, the birds continue to eat, but do not move around excessively and burn off ingested food. Thus, consistent precision light control allows flocks to uniformly increase weight without wasting excess feed in the process.
While light control can have a significant impact on feed conversion, a broiler house must also be well ventilated for the comfort of the birds. Adequate ventilation is typically accomplished by numerous fans pulling fresh air into the broiler house by means of either sidewall air vents or larger sidewall tunnel openings. The amount of air required varies by the age and size of the birds and the outside climate. Ventilation can be intermittent or continuous based on the needs of the birds.
Typically, when ventilation fans come on, light streams into the poultry house, and reaches as far as 150 feet or more in the house. Current light control products cannot control this light intrusion at the fans without a significant reduction in airflow. Light control products currently available to the broiler industry negatively affect the airspeed, airflow, and static pressure inside the houses. Accordingly, there is a need for a product that can achieve a desired balance between light and ventilation control simultaneously.